Pedro Acosta was the fastest rider in the last free practice this Friday (18) of the Austrian GP, the 15th round of the 2026 MotoGP season. The KTM rider, who led the first session of the day at the Red Bull Ring, also showed strength in the second activity by leading throughout and finishing with a time of 1min28s381, securing direct entry into Q2 of the qualifying.
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The second position ended up in the hands of Fermín Aldeguer, a Ducati rider from Gresini who was beaten by Acosta by 0.127 seconds. Returning to the MotoGP grid after two rounds out, Ai Ogura recorded the third best time with the Aprilia from Trackhouse, followed by the two championship leaders: Marc Márquez, from Ducati, who was fourth, and Jorge Martín, from Aprilia, who was fifth.
Fabio Di Giannantonio placed the VR46 Ducati in sixth position on the timesheet, followed by Brad Binder, seventh with the KTM. Álex Márquez closed the session with the eighth best time on a Gresini Ducati, while Marco Bezzecchi, with an Aprilia, was ninth. Fabio Quartararo, with the Yamaha, completes the top 10 and the list of riders who advance directly to Q2.
The only Brazilian on the MotoGP grid, Diogo Moreira was the 13th fastest with a Honda prepared by LCR. The rider of bike number 11 was in the top ten group for much of the second half of the session at the Red Bull Ring but lost his place in the qualifying zone in the final moments and will need to go through the first part of the activity that will define the starting positions.
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The session featured crashes. With 20 minutes into the session, Johann Zarco fell with the LCR Honda at turn 4 of the Austrian circuit, without injury. Moments later, Diogo Moreira went through the gravel at the same point, near his teammate, without falling. With 12 minutes remaining, Álex Márquez fell and saw the Gresini Ducati destroyed on impact with the ground, causing a red flag for the removal of the bike from the track.
The MotoGP schedule at the Red Bull Ring will continue this Saturday (19). At 5:10 AM the last free practice of the weekend takes place, while qualifying is scheduled for 5:50 AM, with the Sprint starting at 10 AM. The Austrian GP will be held on Sunday at 9 AM.
